Detmer Passes Brigham Young Over No. 1 Miami : Cougars: Quarterback throws for 406 yards and three touchdowns in 28-21 upset.

Little Ty Detmer led Brigham Young to a huge upset over top-ranked Miami Saturday night.

Detmer passed for 406 yards and three touchdowns as the 16th-ranked Cougars shocked the defending national champions, 28-21--only the Hurricanes’ third loss in their last 55 regular-season games.

“Ty Detmer is unbelievable,” Miami Coach Dennis Erickson said. “He’s a great, great quarterback and he showed it tonight.”

Detmer, who led the nation in passing last season, outdueled Miami quarterback Craig Erickson in what was billed as a battle of Heisman Trophy favorites.

The junior, who is generously called 6 feet and 175 pounds in the BYU brochure, picked apart Miami’s feared defense with short, pinpoint passes. He completed 38 of 54 throws, including a seven-yard TD toss to Mike Salido and two-point conversion pass to Andy Boyce that gave BYU a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter.

Erickson, who led Miami to the national title in his first year as a starter, completed 28 of 52 passes for 299 yards and no touchdowns. Both quarterbacks had one pass intercepted.

Detmer’s 406 passing yards were the most against Miami since Doug Flutie of Boston College threw for 472 yards against the Hurricanes in 1984.

“I don’t think this one game will mean I’ll win the Heisman,” Detmer said. “I’m just glad I played well enough for us to win.”

Sensational scrambling by Detmer gave him time to get off two of his TD passes, a 14-yarder to Matt Bellini in the second quarter and the winning toss to Salido in the third period.

“I don’t know what I do out there,” said Detmer, who needed six stitches at halftime to close a deep cut on his chin caused by a Miami tackle. “I just run around and jump out of the way when I feel something coming. I guess I learned it from playing in the front yard.”

Detmer’s performance thrilled a record crowd of 66,235 on a warm night at Cougar Stadium and impressed his Miami counterpart.

“Ty played an outstanding game,” Craig Erickson said. “He really ignited the place tonight.”

Miami drove into BYU territory twice late in the fourth quarter, but both drives were halted by Cougar cornerback Ervin Lee. Lee intercepted a pass in the end zone with 6:28 left and knocked away another Erickson pass on the BYU goal line with 1:49 remaining in the game.

It was the opening game of the season for Miami, which defeated BYU in their only previous meeting, 41-17 in 1988. BYU opened its season last week with a 30-10 victory over Texas El Paso.

BYU’s other points came on field goals by Earl Kauffman.

Miami’s scores came on a pair of short TD runs by Steve McGuire in the first half and a five-yard run by Leonard Conley in the third quarter.

Miami, which led the nation in total defense last season, was shredded by the BYU offense. The Cougars outgained the Hurricanes 474-395 and had the edge in first downs 28-21.

Although BYU dominated the first half, the Cougars led only 17-14 at halftime because of four turnovers.

Detmer, who led the nation in passing last season, completed 26 of 35 throws for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Miami’s defense, which allowed only 217 yards per game last season, gave up 332 in the first half against BYU while the Hurricanes’ offense gained only 134 yards. Erickson completed six of 11 passes for just 51 yards.

BYU’s first two drives were halted by fumbles, one by Detmer and the other by Salido.

After Darryl Williams recovered Salido’s fumble at the Miami 21, the Hurricanes drove down the field and scored on a seven-yard run by McGuire. The big play in the drive was a 40-yard run by fullback Alex Johnson.

BYU scored on its opening drive of the second period to tie it at 7-7. Detmer completed five passes in the 60-yard drive, including a scrambling scoring toss to a wide-open Bellini in the left corner of the end zone.

The Cougars took a 10-7 lead midway through the period on a 32-yard field goal by Kauffman, but Miami capitalized on another BYU turnover to regain the lead near the end of the third quarter.

After catching a pass from Detmer, Brent Nyberg fumbled and the ball was recovered by Miami’s Hurlie Brown on the BYU 43. The Hurricanes then drove for the go-ahead score, a 2-yard run by McGuire with 1:48 left in the half.

But BYU came right back and marched 74 yards for a touchdown. Detmer completed seven passes in the drive, including a 23-yarder to Salido that brought the ball to the Miami 2. From there, Detmer hit Boyce in the right corner of the end zone to put BYU ahead 17-14.